OT: 7 Year Old Shot In Detroit

Submitted by jsquigg on

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2010/05/michigan_state_poli…

I don't post often, but I'm sick of seeing stories like this without getting political. Thoughts and prayers for the family. Without making a judgment on who's right or wrong, I hate seeing kids get caught in the middle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/aiyana-jones-7-year-old-s_n_57…

(more extensive story)

jg2112

May 17th, 2010 at 12:24 PM ^

Yes, it's terrible. No question.

You're not asking for anything BUT political responses by posting it here.

Isn't it more appropriate to discuss this story at the Huffington Post or a law enforcement website? I'm being serious.

denverblue

May 17th, 2010 at 12:35 PM ^

The OP isn't asking for anything but political responses by posting it here, that in and of itself is okay- it is marked "OT" after all. It's this part that asks for political responses: "I'm sick of seeing stories like this without getting political"

Huss

May 17th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^

jg is right.  You're inviting a political discussion.  A superbly dumb one. 

Since that's about to happen, I figured - given the subject matter - a hearty good laugh is in order:

 

You don't know anything about pain.  You definitely don't know anything about pain until you watch your baby drown in a tub. 

And you definitely...don't know ANYTHING...about washing a baby.

His Dudeness

May 17th, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^

"Since that's about to happen, I figured - given the subject matter - a hearty good laugh is in order:"

You should probably do the exact opposite of everything you think about doing from here on out.

Huss

May 17th, 2010 at 12:43 PM ^

But you're about to take a step up.

Jesus christ, nobody's heard of Anthony Jeselnik around here?  Drop the Blue Collar Comedy DVDs and get on it.

jsquigg

May 17th, 2010 at 12:53 PM ^

If feeling bad about a 7 year old dying is political, then close the thread.  I'm not asking for any response other than remorse and condolences.  If people choose to feel privately upset politically, so be it.  This story isn't a judgment by me on anyone involved.  It sucks that the girl got shot when it is likely that all parties involved harbor some responsibility for what happened.  That is all.

jg2112

May 17th, 2010 at 1:15 PM ^

I don't think anyone here would disagree with you about the horror (correct use of the word "Horror," BTW) involved in this story, or the call for a moment of regard for the family.

My only question is the utility of posting this on a Michigan sports blog. Now, if you posted a question as to whether Tate or Denard should start against UConn in the Huffington Post comments to the thread you linked, then I get it. You think the realm of a blog should not be restrained to the dedicated theme propagated by the owner of said blog (here, for example, the owner says that nothing politics - tinged, at all, should be posted here).

But if you didn't, then I don't get it.

DoctorSherwin

May 17th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^

You really should change the title of the thread to something like, "7 year old shot dead by Police in Detroit".   Sadly, 7 year olds getting shot dead in Detroit (athough very sad and senseless) sometimes barely raise an eyebrow as the killing in the Detroit knows no age.    Sadly some people have gotten immune to hearing this type of news coming out of Detroit.    But a 7 year getting shot by a Police Officer is quite alarming indeed.... and attention getting news even coming out of a city like Detroit. 

My prayers go out to the little angel and her family.    Truly a tragedy.   

VectorVictor05

May 17th, 2010 at 1:37 PM ^

Wow...nice critique of the title.

Are you from Metro Detroit or have you spent any sort of time in the area?  You honestly think that a 7 year-old being shot in Detroit would get any less media coverage compared to other major cities?  You're ridiculous.  Sorry if it takes a cop shooting the child to grab your attention...it's sad how desensitized you've become if that's the case.

Anytime a kid/teenager/citizen is killed in Detroit it makes news....as it should.  Just becuase it took the police involvement to get CNN's attention doesn't mean it's covered any differently in local media.

Tater

May 17th, 2010 at 1:17 PM ^

A thread like this not only has nothing to do with sports, but isn't really of any interest even in an OT way and is not likely to end well.  Hopefully, it ends with editorial intervention before the inevitable post taking sides appears.

Magnus

May 17th, 2010 at 1:29 PM ^

Maybe it's just me, but I fail to see how this is inevitably related to politics.  It's a 7-year-old girl who got shot and a very sad story.  You can easily avoid relating this to politics if you so choose.

I don't see why we can post news about a bunch of useless crap, but then a post about an accidental shooting is immediately shot down.

joeyb

May 17th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^

Because everywhere else on the internet, this story has turned into a bash-the-police thread. He was expecting the same here (the fact that it hasn't is a testament to how great this board is), which makes me wonder why he posted it here in the first place.

joeyb

May 17th, 2010 at 1:59 PM ^

I'm not trying to call you a liar. If I misunderstood your post, it is due to the grammar.

My point is that you know it's a political topic, yet you posted it here with the disclaimer that we shouldn't have political discussions about it. Just because you posted it with a disclaimer doesn't mean that it won't spark some controversy on the board.

Would you start a thread about a bill allowing/preventing gay marriage in the state of Michigan and then say "without getting political, let's discuss this"? No. So, why would you do it with this?

BTW, I'll +1 you because I don't think its fair to get negged during a debate. Take it as a sign of no hard feelings.

jsquigg

May 17th, 2010 at 7:51 PM ^

There are no hard feelings, but it's a bit unfair to compare this topic to gay marriage, which is completely political.  I just feel bad for people in certain situations having to deal with more crap because of their situation.  If that's considered political I apoligize.

jsquigg

May 17th, 2010 at 1:32 PM ^

So far the only time politics has been brought up were by me in the OP and by people saying it will get political.  It hasn't.  I've seen far less informative OP topics.  The relevance of the topic is that it happened in Michigan.  People here have been supportive in numerous tragedies.  If you want to focus on Michigan athletics I promise you won't have to go far, and I visit this site everyday (for the most part).  God forbid someone post a current event.  I don't think we've broken down the football season that is 3 months away enough yet.

Seth9

May 17th, 2010 at 3:18 PM ^

While I have no problem with anything you wrote, I will say that if you want to avoid any type of political discussion, linking to the Huffington Post is a bad idea. Not that the article in question was making a political statement, but the site does have a political orientation.

UMdad

May 17th, 2010 at 2:04 PM ^

I think the word is that it was her uncle and he might have been in an upstairs portion of the house. The grandmother that was there has been quoted as saying that they need to let her son go, and as there have been quotes from the little girl's dad, I am assuming it is her uncle.

twohooks

May 17th, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^

What had taken place is indescribable. Im not a politiican, nor a lawyer, a policmen nor a critic. Im a father of three children and no matter how it happens, a childs death is an awful tragedy. Rest in Peace.

m_go_blue

May 17th, 2010 at 2:51 PM ^

had no chance. she was sleeping peacefully when the cops came in with their warrant, and an officers gun went off (which is still under investigation)- you are supposed to feel safe in your home....the whole thing is just a sad situation. my prayers and condolences to the family.

ChasingRabbits

May 17th, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^

How is the girl sleeping peacefully on the couch when the cops tossed a flash grenade in the house before they went in??  What I want to know is who was looking out for the child before the police showed up? I am talking days, weeks, years before?   There was a man wanted for Murder living in the flat upstairs...  he was dating the aunt of the little girl.  If I were any one of the adults in that house that child would not have been there... the fugitive would not have been staying there...  the police would have been on the phone with ME finding out how to capture this guy without a fight and nowhere near my child.  How did anyone in that house know that the 17 year old's family ( who the fugitive allegedly shot) wasn't going to come over and do worse than the police.   You can't expose a child to that type of violence and violent people and then hand out blame to everyone but yourself when something bad happens.  I feel horrible, worse than horrible for the little girl... that is not the way life is supposed to work, but nobody else in this story comes even close to getting that type of sympathy.  

jsquigg

May 17th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^

Let's not presume guilt.  While I agree with you for the most part, if someone were wanted for murder in Auburn Hills or another suburb, the police would not have unleashed a flash grenade and gone in with guns drawn.  Also, don't assume people have the same values or view on life that you do.  I live in an urban environment, and while I personally would not run from the consequences of my actions, many people wanted for crime take refuge with friends or family.  As bad as some of these criminals are, the police cannot be exempt from responsibility when an innocent dies by their weapon.  Their reaction to certain situations often depends on the reprucussions that come from the wanted or accused.

Noahdb

May 17th, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^

If I were any one of the adults in that house that child would not have been there... the fugitive would not have been staying there...  the police would have been on the phone with ME finding out how to capture this guy without a fight and nowhere near my child.

When I was in high school, I worked a horrible summer job putting out mosquito and black fly poison for the city. Awful job. I worked with three other guys...one guy was named Tory Lyons. He was stupid, mean and had about as much foresight as a one of the bugs we were trying to kill.

Fast-forward to 1997. I was just starting out as a reporter for the local daily paper after a couple of years of freelancing. First weekend that I'm on the job, call comes in that there's been a shooting. I go out there and a five-year-old little girl had been hit with three bullets while she slept in her bed.

One of the guys they arrested? Tory Lyons. He had become a gang-banger. Someone had a beef with someone else and they had decided the thing to do would be to go over to the offender's house and empty a couple of machine guns into the place. Except, being th geniuses that they were, they went to the wrong house. And then they MISSED the house they were shooting at. Brilliant.

Their trial lasted all of about five minutes and after they were sentenced, I went over and interviewed Tory in prison. Among my questions (how exactly do you miss a HOUSE with a machine gun??) was they did it in the first place.

Swear to god...without even a moment of reflection, he just said, "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

Of COURSE you wouldn't let a murder into the house! You're not a sociopathic retard!

Sadly....other people are.

Noahdb

May 17th, 2010 at 5:01 PM ^

Please tell me he is serving life in a prison that makes Shawshank look like a country club.

If you're talking about Mr. Lyons, he didn't even do five years on that charge. He did three years, 11 months for discharging a firearm. I asked one of the detectives on the case about it and they said they couldn't prove who fired the shot that killed the girl, so the DA plead it down. He's been arrested seven more times, mostly on drug charges.

Looking at his arrest record, he was getting popped pretty regularly until 2005 and then it stops, so maybe we caught a break and he got killed or OD'ed.